Monday, May 30, 2016

This story has been circulating around the Internet since it was written in 2000. It was written by Michael T. Powers, who is also an author with stories in 29 inspirational books including many in the Chicken Soup for the Soul series and his own entitled: Heart Touchers "Life-Changing Stories of Faith, Love, and Laughter." To preview his book or to join the thousands of world wide readers on his inspirational e-mail list, visit: http://www.HeartTouchers.com.

THE BOYS OF IWO JIMA

Each year my video production company is hired to go to Washington, D.C. with the eighth grade class from Clinton, Wisconsin where I grew up, to videotape their trip. I greatly enjoy visiting our nation's capitol, and each year I take some special memories back with me. This fall's trip was especially memorable.

On the last night of our trip, we stopped at the Iwo Jima memorial. This memorial is the largest bronze statue in the world and depicts one of the most famous photographs in history -- that of the six brave men raising the American flag at the top of Mount Surabachi on the Island of Iwo Jima, Japan during WW II. Over one hundred students and chaperones piled off the buses and headed towards the memorial. I noticed a solitary figure at the base of the statue, and as I got closer he asked, "What's your name and where are you guys from?

I told him that my name was Michael Powers and that we were from Clinton, Wisconsin.

"Hey, I'm a Cheesehead, too! Come gather around Cheeseheads, and I will tell you a story."

James Bradley just happened to be in Washington, D.C. to speak at the memorial the following day. He was there that night to say good-night to his dad, who had previously passed away, but whose image is part of the statue. He was just about to leave when he saw the buses pull up. I videotaped him as he spoke to us, and received his permission to share what he said from my videotape. It is one thing to tour the incredible monuments filled with history in Washington, D.C. but it is quite another to get the kind of insight we received that night. When all had gathered around he reverently began to speak. Here are his words from that night:

"My name is James Bradley and I'm from Antigo, Wisconsin. My dad is on that statue, and I just wrote a book called Flags of Our Fathers which is #5 on the New York Times Best Seller list right now. It is the story of the six boys you see behind me. Six boys raised the flag. The first guy putting the pole in the ground is Harlon Block. Harlon was an all-state football player. He enlisted in the Marine Corps with all the senior members of his football team. They were off to play another type of game, a game called "War." But it didn't turn out to be a game. Harlon, at the age of twenty-one, died with his intestines in his hands. I don't say that to gross you out; I say that because there are generals who stand in front of this statue and talk about the glory of war. You guys need to know that most of the boys in Iwo Jima were seventeen, eighteen, and nineteen years old. (He pointed to the statue)

You see this next guy? That's Rene Gagnon from New Hampshire. If you took Rene's helmet off at the moment this photo was taken, and looked in the webbing of that helmet, you would find a photograph. A photograph of his girlfriend. Rene put that in there for protection, because he was scared. He was eighteen years old. Boys won the battle of Iwo Jima. Boys. Not old men.
The next guy here, the third guy in this tableau, was Sergeant Mike Strank. Mike is my hero. He was the hero of all these guys. They called him the "old man" because he was so old. He was already twenty-four. When Mike would motivate his boys in training camp, he didn't say, "Let's go kill the enemy" or "Let's die for our country." He knew he was talking to little boys. Instead he would say, "You do what I say, and I'll get you home to your mothers."

The last guy on this side of the statue is Ira Hayes, a Pima Indian from Arizona. Ira Hayes walked off Iwo Jima. He went into the White House with my dad. President Truman told him, "You're a hero." He told reporters, "How can I feel like a hero when 250 of my buddies hit the island with me and only twenty-seven of us walked off alive?"

So you take your class at school. 250 of you spending a year together having fun, doing everything together. Then all 250 of you hit the beach, but only twenty-seven of your classmates walk off alive. That was Ira Hayes. He had images of horror in his mind. Ira Hayes died dead drunk, face down at the age of thirty-two, ten years after this picture was taken.

The next guy, going around the statue, is Franklin Sousley from Hilltop, Kentucky, a fun-lovin' hillbilly boy. His best friend, who is now 70, told me, "Yeah, you know, we took two cows up on the porch of the Hilltop General Store. Then we strung wire across the stairs so the cows couldn't get down. Then we fed them Epson salts. Those cows crapped all night."

Yes, he was a fun-lovin' hillbilly boy. Franklin died on Iwo Jima at the age of nineteen. When the telegram came to tell his mother that he was dead, it went to the Hilltop General Store. A barefoot boy ran that telegram up to his mother's farm. The neighbors could hear her scream all night and into the morning. The neighbors lived a quarter of a mile away.

The next guy, as we continue to go around the statue, is my dad, John Bradley from Antigo, Wisconsin, where I was raised. My dad lived until 1994, but he would never give interviews. When Walter Cronkite's producers, or the New York Times would call, we were trained as little kids to say, "No, I'm sorry sir, my dad's not here. He is in Canada fishing. No, there is no phone there, sir. No, we don't know when he is coming back."

My dad never fished or even went to Canada. Usually he was sitting right there at the table eating his Campbell's soup, but we had to tell the press that he was out fishing. He didn't want to talk to the press. You see, my dad didn't see himself as a hero. Everyone thinks these guys are heroes, 'cause they are in a photo and a monument. My dad knew better. He was a medic. John Bradley from Wisconsin was a caregiver. In Iwo Jima he probably held over 200 boys as they died, and when boys died in Iwo Jima, they writhed and screamed in pain.

When I was a little boy, my third grade teacher told me that my dad was a hero. When I went home and told my dad that, he looked at me and said, "I want you always to remember that the heroes of Iwo Jima are the guys who did not come back. DID NOT come back."

So that's the story about six nice young boys. Three died on Iwo Jima, and three came back as national heroes. Overall, 7000 boys died on Iwo Jima in the worst battle in the history of the Marine Corps. My voice is giving out, so I will end here. Thank you for your time."

Suddenly the monument wasn't just a big old piece of metal with a flag sticking out of the top. It came to life before our eyes with the heartfelt words of a son who did indeed have a father who was a hero. Maybe not a hero in his own eyes, but a hero nonetheless.

Friday, May 27, 2016

This fast-paced sequel to Moore’s “Finding Sheba” delivers
two exciting reads in one. H.B. Moore uses her mastery of the Middle East and
its culture to take readers on two heart-pounding, interwoven adventures.

Undercover agent Omar Zagouri is called in when a prominent Egyptologist is
murdered and priceless scrolls are stolen that may upend the religious world.
But Omar has his own concerns. His love interest, Mia Golding, is missing, and torn
between duty and love, he bends and breaks rules to find Mia and the scrolls.

Another dramatic turn occurs when two prominent scholars—Farrah Samra, a professor of Egyptology, and
handsome royal-blooded Dr. Kale Naji—are kidnapped. Kale has
old history with Omar and Mia, and it isn’t good, but the heat turns us between
he and his kidnapped colleague, and that is very good.

Woven through the book is the
story of Hatshepsut, the female Pharoah who authored the missing scrolls. Torn
between dual loves—power and the future pharaoh, Thut, who stands in her way—hers
is s story of great love, squandered opportunities, and regret. Moore brings
different but equal passion to both story lines, weaving them seamlessly.

The pacing is different between
the stories, and that back and forth accentuates each. Moore’s writing style puts
the reader in the action. You are breathless as you rip through pages with no
break until Hatshepsut’s next chapter begins, and then your heart pounds through
scenes of passion and power.

Moore’s research, as always, is
first-rate. I always leave her books feeling enriched and enlightened. I’m awed
by the detail, particularly in Hatshepsut’s world. Ancient Egypt comes alive
and you are there.

I didn’t read “Finding Sheba”
before picking up “The Lost King,” but H.B. Moore brings new readers up to
speed quickly and in a satisfying way. But after reading “The Lost King,” you’ll
long for more of Moore, so pick up “Finding Sheba” first.

Friday, May 20, 2016

Sarah Creviston Lee is one of the very talented authors I get to brainstorm with in my critique group. Her debut novel, "The War between Us," is historical fiction with a most unique take on World War II. Sarah won the very prestigious Historical Novel Society's Editor's Choice Award.

Sarah is a woman of many talents, but today we'll focus on her writing. So Sarah, have you always wanted to be a writer?

Pretty much! I distinctly remember deciding that in first grade. As a prize for our writing, we earned these blank, white hardback books to write in and my imagination took flight. I was in love!

Tell us a little bit about your new book, and what inspired it?The War Between Us, is set in WWII six months after the bombing of Pearl Harbor. It’s the story of a Korean American young man from California who gets stranded in a Midwestern town on his way to DC to live with his uncle. He faces a lot of prejudice and violence because most people believe him to be Japanese. He’s befriended by a local girl whom he eventually falls in love with. The story delves not only into the Korean American wartime experience, but the consequences of a cross-cultural relationship.My book was inspired by a couple things. I enjoy watching Korean dramas and I love studying about WWII. Eventually, my mind met in the middle, and I wondered what Korean Americans did during the war. Research didn’t take long at first, because there wasn’t much to find. As a historian, this was really thrilling. It’s so hard to find a topic in WWII that hasn’t been written about. As I had already fallen in love with the Korean culture, knowing that their story had yet to be told in historical fiction form was just the motivation I needed to write their story.A further inspiration were the lives of my Great Aunt Elaine and Uncle Harry Chan. Aunt Elaine married a Chinese man, Harry Chan, in the 1930s and doing research on them and their unique relationship brought a lot of emotional depth to my story. I am so grateful to have had that as a muse.

Tell us about your other projects.

The War Between Us is my only published work at this time, but I’m currently working on four other stories! One is a modern-day paranormal romance, one is a modern sci-fi/fantasy, another is a historical fiction/fantasy, and the final one is a sequel of sorts to The War Between Us, though the main characters will be different.

You're a busy wife and mom. What inspires you, and motivates you to write?

A lot of things in life inspire me. Sometimes it’s as basic as something I’m curious about, a strange situation, or an interesting way of seeing the world. What motivates me to write is my own deep desire to express myself and to communicate with others. I love being able to share my thoughts with the hope of inspiring others or getting them to think about something in a different way. Plus, it’s a lot of fun!

Is there an established writer you admire and emulate in your writing? Do you have a writing mentor?Right now, I’d have to say that I really admire Jonathan Stroud and Sarah Sundin. They both write in a way that amazes and inspires me. Stroud has published a fantastic paranormal fantasy series that is so unique and clever which I really seek and hope to emulate in my own creativity. Sarah Sundin is an incredible historical fiction writer who weaves in amazing historical detail that leaves me in awe. I really aspire to that in my own historical fiction, though I have a long way to go!My writer’s group is my collective mentor. They are a talented bunch of ladies and I really respect their ideas and opinions. I feel lucky to have their expertise to draw from!

Bring us into your home and set the scene for us when you are writing. What does it look like? On the couch, laptop, desk? Is music playing? What surrounds you?When I wrote as a teenager, I usually wrote in bed, or at a desk in school when I should have been paying attention in class. It hasn’t changed at all! I still write in bed or at a desk at the library when I go out alone a couple nights a week. I always have music playing and that is a big part of my writing research – finding music that sets the mood or speaks to the emotion of the scenes I’m writing. I find it to be a great inspiration and motivator, and besides that, it helps me focus. I’ve found this has a subconscious benefit as well – when I hear those particular songs, I’m immediately placed in my story and the emotion of that moment I was writing. It’s an awesome trigger to kick-start my writing if I’ve been away from it for awhile.

Do you watch television or movies? If so, what are your favorites? Do they inspire your writing?Oh man, yeah! Some women eat chocolate or ice cream when they’re down, but I watch movies. I love watching a lot of BBC shows or mini-series, historical dramas or Korean dramas. My favorites are North & South, Persuasion, Nicholas Nickelby, My Love From Another Star, Pinnochio, and Rooftop Prince. I’d have to say that the emotions behind the stories are great motivations for me. For instance, ‘Pinnochio’ is a Korean Drama that deals with corruption in journalism as well as the power the ties of family hold. It’s such a gripping story, and I just relish stuff like that! It’s great fuel for my writing.

How has being published changed your life?Well, it’s made it a bit more stressful! Haha! But in all honesty, it’s a bit surreal. I’ve wanted to be published since I was a girl. To have this finally happen is such a humbling feeling. It makes me so happy to have the privilege of sharing my writing with others and to hear that they enjoy it! I’m naturally an introvert, but being published has helped me open up a little more and have the chance to talk to them about a topic I love and am passionate about.

Do you have any book signings, tours or special events planned to promote your book that readers might be interested in attending? If so, when and where? Also tell about your blog and website.

So, my “I’ve made it” dream is when I see someone waiting for a flight, holding my book in their hands, and I walk up and offer to sign their copy. What’s yours?

It’s a bit wild, but my “I’ve made it” dream is to have a book of mine featured in one of Diane Rehms’s book review sections on the radio. It would be awesome if The War Between Us made that happen, because it would be amazing if more people could hear about and discuss Asian American wartime experiences. You can pick up a copy of this wonderful book here.

Wednesday, May 18, 2016

The Dragons of Alsace
Farm rose to
Amazon's

Hot and Trending" list. Thank you so much for voting.

Kindle calls their
Scout program "People-Powered Publishing," but one author calls
it "the American Idol of books." Your votes are making it likely
that "Dragons" get a look by the Kindle Publishing team. Remember
that every person who votes for a winning book will get a free
e-copy! I hope we all win!

Visit the link to read
sample chapters, and thank you so much for all your support!

One of the great blessings of writing is having a writing
community. I'm blessed to have several talented, award-winning authors in my
critique group.

Elizabeth Petty Bentley is the publisher, editor and/or author
of many award-winning LDS novels. She is offering one of her more recent novels
free with a coupon code below.

Sweet romance author, Lisa Swinton's "Vocal
Crush" is up for a prestigious RONE award. She is offering to readers for
$.99 for a week.

And debuting historical fiction author, Sarah Lee's "The
War Between Us," won the Historical Novel Society's Editor's Choice
Award. You can also pick up a copy of this wonderful novel below at no cost for
a week. Scroll down.

Use this link to pick up Sarah Creviston Lee's Award-winning
"The
War Between Us" for free from May 27th through 31st.

Use this link to pick up a $.99 copy of Lisa Swinton's
sweet romance release, "Vocal Crush," through May 22nd. You can
also be part of the award process by clicking on this link
to vote for Lisa's book through the 22nd.

Sunday, May 15, 2016

After a long hiatus, I’ve returned to publishing. In order
to expedite my new book’s release to market, I entered it into the Kindle Scout
competition, which one author described as "the
American Idol of books."

Like "Idol," this
competition rest on two factors--the public's support, and the book's merit. In
other words, "Dragons" needs votes to rise in the ranking before
Amazon's editors will place it on their "read list." Once it's
selected, the rest is up to the book, and to them. If Kindle picks it up, it
will be published by them and receive the power of their marketing.

I would be so honored if you
would vote for "The Dragons of Alsace Farm." If I win, you do too,
because every person who votes for a winning book will get a free e-copy!

If you're inclined, I would be so grateful if you
could also help me spread the word through your social media contacts. Feel
free to copy this text and tell everyone it's from a grateful friend and
author. Again, if they help "Dragons" win, they too will get a free
e-copy.

Thank you so much for all
your support! Here's the blurb, but visit the link to read sample chapters!

Warmly,

Laurie

Fears and secrets are the dragons we each must face. . .

In need of his own redemption, Noah Carter finally confronts his childhood hero, the once-beloved uncle who betrayed him. Instead of vengeance, he offers forgiveness, also granting Uncle John a most curious request—for Noah to work on the ramshackle farm of Agnes Deveraux Keller, a French WWII survivor with dementia.

Despite all Agnes has lost, she still has much to teach Noah.
But the pair’s unique friendship is threatened when Tayte, Agnes’s estranged
granddaughter, arrives to claim a woman whose circumstances and abilities are
far different from those of the grandmother she once knew.

Items hidden in Agnes’s attic raise painful questions about
Tayte’s dead parents, steeling Tayte’s determination to save Agnes, even if it
requires her to betray the very woman she came to save, and the secret her
proud grandmother has guarded for seventy years.

The issue strains the fragile trust between Tayte and Noah, who
now realizes Tayte is fighting her own secrets, her own dragons. Weighed down
by past guilt and failures, he feels ill-equipped to help either woman, until
he remembers Agnes’s lessons about courage and love. In order to save Agnes,
the student must now become the teacher, helping Tayte heal—for Agnes’s sake,
and for his.

Thursday, May 12, 2016

Critique groups are a critical tool in an author's box. I happen to have a great critique group--one of the best--and one of my partners is up for an award.

So here's your chance to be part of the awards process. Help popular sweet romance author, Lisa Swinton, nudge her RONE nominated book through the judging. Enter to win a free book, or buy a copy at a great discount. Ready . . . set . . . VOTE!!!!Vocal Crush is a prestigious RONE nominee!

Thursday, May 5, 2016

Each of these first three novels has launched with great success on Amazon. I'm at work on mine for a March 2017 release, but in the meantime, I'm pleased to introduce you to. . .

Almost Everything

book three in the "Destination Billionaire Series"by Bestselling Author

Taylor Hart

Billionaire Montana Crew, country music superstar, thought he’d put the cheating best friend and ex-fiancé in the past. When the ex appears backstage bearing the news of his friend’s death and thrusting an envelope in his hands, he’s shocked and a little annoyed.

Lily Ray Gold, L.R. Gold to her associates at the law firm, doesn’t want to deliver the envelope with her best friend’s last wishes. Nothing could have convinced her to look the ‘King of Country’ in the eye again…except Jason. She’d do it and she wouldn’t lie, telling Montana she was finally done with him would feel awesome!

When Montana shows up at Lily’s law firm and extorts her into helping him figure out what Jason wants him to do, neither of them would have expected getting caught up doing their high school bucket list by surfing in Hawaii, riding in a hot air balloon, and climbing Devil’s Tower.

They both agree to finish the list for their friend, but when Montana proposes, Lily has to make a choice—tell the truth or never have almost everything she’s ever truly wanted.

Bateman has written extensively on the Spirit World and
angelic visitations as recorded in the journals of early members of The Church
of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. In Magnificent
World of Spirits, she offers carefully researched accounts of Latter-day
Saints who visited the Spirit World through dreams and visions. These accounts are
almost identical to the experiences of people who actually crossed the veil,
visited the Spirit World, and returned, which she chronicled in her first book on the
subject, Gaze Into Heaven; Near-death Experiences in Early Church History. Both
books remind us where we came from, why we’re here on earth, what really
matters, and why we want to make it Home.

The Magnificent World of Spirits: Eyewitness Accounts of Where We Go When We Dieis a well-documented, fascinating read that’s hard to put down. Sullivan’s research has earned her accolades from other respected LDS scholars. The book opens with an acknowledgment by Lee Nelson (Beyond the Veil Series.) The extensive foreword was written by Duane S. Crowther, the prolific and highly respected author of over fifty LDS titles.

Adding to the veracity of these accounts is the era in which they were give. Before our media-driven days, these stories were personally recorded in private journals, and initially shared with family and ecclesiastical leaders to strengthen and teach, Sullivan supports the context of the accounts by interspersing correlating scriptural content and passages from modern revelation, adding further substance until the overall effect is powerful, convincing, and educational.

She explained that while researching the early history of The Church of Jesus
Christ of Latter-day Saints for another book, LDS Heroes and Heroines, she came across touching accounts of people
who had visited the Spirit World. After completing that book, she returned to
the LDS libraries to search for similar accounts and found scores of them.

Though each experience shared is unique to the individual,
the personal accounts contain many similarities—concourses of people dressed
primarily in brilliant white, feelings of love, a sense of familiarity, a
longing to stay in Heaven, the sense of freedom from the burden of the body, acute
awareness of the separation between the co-existing worlds of spirits and
mortals.

Most touching to me was the reminder that mortality is a
time to prepare for eternity where what matters most are our relationships—to
God, and to others—further reminding us that matters most in heaven should be the primary subject
of our concern here on earth.

As a family reference book,
it would be a source of easy devotionals, scriptural dessert before bed, a gift
for peace for those providing bedside comfort to the ailing, and a source of beautiful
stories to support favorite scriptural passages.

Marlene is offering a free, personalized copy to one of my readers. Please leave a comment below to enter the giveaway. The winner will be chosen May 6th. In the meantime, please visit other stops on the Magnificent World of Spirits blog tour, available by visiting www.marlenebateman.info.

L.C. Lewis's Fan Box

LET'S CONNECT!

Facebook Badge

STAT COUNTER

“A nation which does not remember what it was yesterday, does not know what it is today, nor what it is trying to do. We are trying to do a futile thing if we do not know where we came from or what we have been about.”-Woodrow Wilson